FINDING LIQUID WATER ON MARS MAYBE POSSIBLE WITH CHLORATE-RICH SOIL

Water is what differentiates Earth from other planets but what if it doesn’t? What if we can find water on Mars?

Many experts speculate that there could be liquid water present on Mars. If it does exist, it would be a briny liquid with magnesium chlorate salts. This theory is based on discoveries of NASA’s Curiosity rover and the Viking and Phoenix landers.

Scientists from the Department of Earth and Space at the University of Washington examined various mixtures of water that had salts that possibly exist on Mars. They performed experiments that compared the water-absorbing ability and vapor pressure of the different salt solutions. Ultimately, the results told the that water with magnesium chlorate would not freeze or evaporate immediately on Mars.

Experts are also contemplating on the amount of water to support microbial life on Mars. Mark Schneegurt, a Biological Sciences professor at the Wichita State University in Kansas, leads a team that discovered the ability of halotolerant bacteria to thrive in highly concentrated chlorate salts. If microbial growth is possible in the presence of these salts, then it is possible for microbes to exist and grow on Mars.